Small Business Owner

Kathleen Horgan (D)

Liasion to the Board; amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research

Daniel Jacobson (I)

Newspaper owner and publisher

In brief, what will be your top three priorities if elected (one sentence each, please).

Should the state provide more school choice for children, including the expansion of charter schools, vouchers for private schools and enabling children to attend public schools outside of their home districts?

Would you make any changes to how schools are funded by the state, including so-called Abbott districts and wealthier suburban localities?

Should the state continue to adopt regional planning initiatives to prevent sprawl, and if so, how should preservation be funded?

Do you support Gov. Christie's energy master plan or would you seek more lofty goals for conservation and renewable energy?

Experts say New Jersey's transportation infrastructure is crumbling. How should the state fund upgrades: continued bonding or borrowing, a gas tax, toll hikes or some other specified method?

What would you do to provide relief for property taxpayers -- for example, further program cuts, additional state aid and rebates -- and should municipalities and schools be forced to do more to regionalize or share services?

Vin Gopal:
I believe that public money should bring with it a significant level of accountability. Private schools are not held accountable to the public--they don't require teacher certifications, their curriculum isn't required to meet established math, science, and reading requirements, and their performance isn't evaluated or reported in a comprehensive way to the public.

I would support charter schools in areas where public schools have consistently failed to meet expectations, and provided that other public school budgets aren't significantly harmed.

Vin Gopal:
We must fully fund the School Funding Reform Act of 2008. That law provides for adequate funding of all school districts, including both Abbott and suburban districts that get heavily shortchanged as a result of severe budget cuts. I believe this law sets a fair guideline for funding local districts.

Fully funding public education not only benefits kids in urban and suburban areas, it also removes a critical cost driver for increased property taxes. When Trenton incumbents cut this support over the last several, they opened major budget holes that were filled by higher rates and cut service

Vin Gopal:
It's important to ensure that we promote smart development that allows our economy to continue growing, without aggravating the significant congestion issues our neighborhoods face. Protecting open spaces to both preserve New Jersey's natural assets and to reduce congestion is an important goal for state government. While it is important to find a consistent source of funding for Green Acres initiatives, I would oppose in this time of economic difficulty any new fees or taxes for this purpose.

Vin Gopal:
I believe it is in the interests of New Jersey to promote conservation and boost green energy production. As a coastal state that will suffer the brunt of climate change in the long term, we must set an example for the rest of the country.

We can increase efficiency by promoting incentives for green construction and retrofitting of existing buildings. I also support the construction of solar panels on public buildings and off-shore wind farms to meet ambitious energy goals. Retrofitting, green construction, and green energy generation also have the added benefit of creating jobs here.

Vin Gopal:
Improving New Jersey's infrastructure is important if we hope to keep our state competitive in global marketplace. However, given the already high tax burden residents and companies face, we must be careful not to further increase the amount government takes out of our pockets. A combination of bonding measures and public-private partnerships can address many infrastructure improvement needs. This would boost the amount of capital available for these projects by increasing buy-in from corporations that benefit from improved infrastructure without increasing taxes.

Vin Gopal:
I support shared service. Shared services does not mean a loss of local control--bulk purchasing of benefits for employees, waste management contracts, and similar measures bring down costs and keep local boards in control.

It is critical that we restore full property tax rebates. The average homeowner receives 75% less support than they did 2 years ago, increasing the tax burden even where rates have stayed steady. Fully funding local schools is also an important step to controlling tax rates--cuts to aid created major budget holes which were filled with higher rates on the middle class.

Vin Gopal:
The deep acrimony in Trenton is a part of the reason the state is unable to pass serious reforms to create jobs, lower taxes, and balance the budget. Both parties are at fault--rather than promoting a civil dialogue that is rooted in respect, incumbent politicians in Trenton often reduce debates to name calling, questioning the motives of the other side, and scoring partisan points for reelection. I intend to work in Trenton with anyone who has a good idea, not just people of my own party. I hope to work with Republicans and Democrats alike to reach compromises.

Public Service:Board of Directors Northern Monmouth Chamber of Commerce; Board of Trustees for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Monmouth County

Kathleen Horgan:
1. Create jobs by providing tax incentives for small businesses, slash red tape, and open access to capital and technology.
2. Lower property taxes by restoring rebates, promoting shared services and bulk purchasing, and restoring aid to schools and towns.
3. Support public education by protecting state funding, thereby reducing a major cost driver for rising property taxes.

Kathleen Horgan:
While I support public school choice, I am opposed to private school voucher programs. Private schools are not required to meet the same accountability standards--teacher certifications, student testing and reporting, curriculum standards for math, science, and reading--that public schools are, so I am hesitant to send public funds to support them.

I am in favor of charter schools in areas where public school districts consistently underperform. We must be vigilant though that any such schools don't adversely affect the budgets of the public school they complement.

Kathleen Horgan:
I am a strong supporter of the School Funding Reform Act of 2008. It is important that we continue funding urban districts in need of the support, but we should not fund them to the exclusion of suburban districts. By punishing success in this way, we risk harming the strong districts we do have. Fully funding SFRA would address this issue.

Providing full funding according to the law would also remove a major cost driver for rising property taxes. By cutting support for schools, Trenton has opened major budget holes in local budgets that have been closed by repeated tax hikes.

Kathleen Horgan:
New Jersey is plagued by congestion and overdevelopment. We must take care to preserve and protect open spaces, and ensure that future development is done carefully and with adequate planning. As more territory is developed, like the old Fort Monmouth, we must take care that the area can handle the water, power, and transportation infrastructure necessary without aggravating the congestion issues we face. As the economy improves, we should work to identify a strong independent funding source for Green Acres programs as well, though at this point I would oppose any new taxes for the purpose.

Kathleen Horgan:
New Jersey has significant energy needs that will continue to grow. I support an ambitious energy policy that would boost green energy production right here through the construction of off-shore wind farms and expanded solar panels on public buildings. Doing so diversifies the energy pool, making NJ less vulnerable to swings in prices on fossil fuels, and will decrease costs in the long term.

I also would be in favor of providing tax incentives for green construction and retrofitting of existing buildings to boost efficiency. Both these efforts would help the economy and create jobs in NJ.

Kathleen Horgan:
Repairing New Jersey's decaying rail and road networks is a task that cannot be put off, but given the state of the economy, we must be very cautious when considering new taxes and fees. I think one immediate step that can be taken is to encourage private investment in repairs and improvements. Public-private partnerships allow local government to work with private companies while holding down costs for taxpayers. The public and private companies will significantly benefit from these projects, so encouraging this kind of cooperation is a common sense step we can take immediately.

Kathleen Horgan:
Shared services are a critical step to take to reduce the serious duplication of services that exist in New Jersey. This need can be balanced with the desire for home rule--bulk purchasing of medical benefits for public employees and waste management contracts, for example, would reduce costs for towns while protecting local control.

We must also fully fund property tax rebate programs. The average New Jersey homeowner receives 75% less direct aid than two years ago. Restoring funding for towns and schools would also remove a major cost driver for property tax increases.

Kathleen Horgan:
Members of both parties are responsible for the deep partisanship and anger that characterizes Trenton. This is one of the reasons our state house needs new voices, people who have experience like myself working with other elected officials committed to bringing down costs while protecting services. I have a deep commitment to good ideas and good policy, and I will work with legislators irrespective of their party affiliation. Building these bridges and opening dialogues will go a long way to improving the climate in Trenton and making government productive again.